Told Not Ready To Die and the Near-Death Experience

At some point in every near-death experience, the person returns to life. Otherwise, the person’s body would die and their soul would remain on the Other Side. In such a case, instead of a NDE, the person would experience death. But some people are given a choice as to whether or not to return. For example, they might be asked, “Are you ready?” Some people return because of a desire to finish their earthly mission. Once they return to life, they may say that God permitted them to return because their life’s work or mission was not complete. Such people may also say that returning to life was their choice. This choice to return may have been permitted because it stemmed from some sense of responsibility for others such as a mother’s desire to raise their children. On the other hand, some people are not given the choice to stay in heaven or return to life. After receiving a “taste” of heavenly bliss, experiencers may be told that they must return and therefore are forced to return to life. They may try to resist having to return. They may even beg to not be sent back. They may argue. But all attempts to resist are futile and the experiencer returns to life often bitterly disappointed. Some people are told of a specific task they must accomplish such as building meditation centers, starting an organization or writing a book.

Sometimes the experiencer returns to life instantaneously. Sometimes their return coincides with attempts to resuscitate their body such as with a electrical shock to the heart. Some people report of being pushed or forced back into their body. Some people return automatically for no apparent reason. But experiencers usually return from death convinced of a mission they must complete – a job they must perform for the greater good of humanity.

The experiencer may be given a reason why the must return. Usually, they are told by some heavenly being something like, “It is not your time” or “You are not ready” or “Your mission is not fulfilled” or “Your purpose is not complete” or “Your life is not finished” or “There has been a mistake” or “You must go back” or some variation of these. Such messages received by experiencers begs the following questions: Isn’t it strange that so many people are being told basically the same thing? Why are do many people report being given virtually the same message? If NDEs are just hallucinations, as so many skeptics claim, how can so many people be hallucinating the same message? If NDEs are just hallucinations, then aren’t they “mass hallucinations?” Given the fact that so many people are given this somewhat cryptic message, doesn’t this prove an objectivity to the NDE which cannot be explained by brain chemicals? In other words, suppose a large percentage of people are told something just as cryptic such as “Where’s the beef?” or some variation of this. Doesn’t this show that such messages are not a product of the brain? For many people, including myself, the answer is an obvious “yes.”

This web page focuses on the aspect of the NDE where the experiencer learns that they must return to life.

1. Being Told “It Is Not Your Time”

After reading so many NDE testimonies on how experiencers are told that they must go back and return to life, one might wonder “Why must they return? Do they have a choice?” The best answer I have ever found to this question appeared In the NDE documentary video entitled Shadows which is one of the best NDE documentaries I have ever seen. One of the experiencers in the video is named Cindy Massey and she describes a heart-wrenching conversation she had with Jesus on why she had to return to life. It is obviously very difficult for Cindy to recount this conversation with others. The following is the verbatim transcript of her recounting her conversation with Jesus.

Cindy:

“I want to come home now.”

Jesus:

“No, you can’t.”

Cindy:

“But I don’t want to stay there anymore. I don’t like it.”

Jesus:

“I know that.”

Cindy:

“Well, I just want to come home. They are very mean down there. I don’t like it.”

Jesus:

“I grieve for you and what they’ve done to you. And I grieve for what they do to each other. I grieve deeply. I hurt for you and for all of you. You have to go back. You have to return.”

Cindy:

“Why?”

Jesus:

“Because you promised me.”

Cindy:

“But I can do it another time and another place.”

Jesus:

“There is no other time. There is no other place. You must do it this time. You promised.”

Cindy:

“Well, you don’t understand.” Cindy states that when see looked into Jesus’ eyes, she knew he did.

Jesus:

“You promised me, child, it would be this time. You must return but I promise you I will be back when it is time for you to go.”

Cindy:

“I don’t know what I am supposed to do.”

Jesus:

“You’ll know. You’ll know when it’s time and you’ll know what to do.'” (Cindy Massey)

“Gently, he opened his arms and let me stand back far enough to look into his eyes, and he said, ‘Your death was premature, it is not yet your time.’ No words ever spoken have penetrated me more than these. Until then, I had felt no purpose in life; I had simply ambled along looking for love and goodness but never really knowing if my actions were right. Now, within his works, I felt a mission, a purpose; I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that my life on Earth had not been meaningless. It was not yet my time. My time would come when my mission, my purpose, my meaning in this life was accomplished. I had a reason for existing on Earth. But even though I understood this, my spirit rebelled. Did this mean I would have to go back? I said to him, ‘No, I can never leave you now. He understood what I meant, and his love and acceptance for me never wavered. My thoughts raced on: ‘Is this Jesus, God, the being I feared all my life? He is nothing like what I had thought. He is filled with love.'” (Betty Eadie)

“And it seemed that I heard this voice from heaven speak to me and say, ‘Well done my son.’ Upon hearing this, I then believed that I had been carried to heaven or before the Almighty God. I was so filled with LOVE and JOY. I was content and NEVER wanted to go back to Earth, ever. But I again heard these words, ‘It is not your time – for you have much fruits to bring to me.’ But I did not want to return back to this Earth. Suddenly I felt myself back on my bed and the cloud had left.” (Victor Borras)

“I saw Jesus on the cross taking his last breath. I saw my body in a heap on the ground. I was above. There seemed to be no differentiation of time. It was all one. And then I felt his pain and loneliness as he took his last breath and he said without using words, ‘It is not your time to go’ and BAM I was back in my body wrenching in pain strapped to a board bleeding all over.” (Jeanne Ciampa)

“I left the room of heat, noise, and pain and lay upon a bed in this cool blue mist and my ‘uncle’ came in and spoke to me. We spoke telepathically for hours which in real time must have been a very short time and when he rose from my bedside to go I came up out of my body to join him with peace and joy only to be told – No! ‘But I want to go with you, I want to go home!’ I cried. And again he said with such kindness – ‘No, Jesus sent me to tell you, now is not your time.’ When I mentally shrugged and gave up (who was I to deny Jesus) everything came back … the pain, the smells, the heat, the noise and I wept.” (Jean Harmon)

“Now I’ve always told Linda that when I get to heaven, the first thing I want to do is walk the dusty road that Christ walked. As I stood with my hand on the gate, I looked off toward the right, and there was my dusty road. I couldn’t believe it. I could see it right there, just as I always pictured it. I started to turn the lever to open the gate when I heard this voice saying, ‘M.L., go back. It’s not your time.’ I said, ‘But I don’t want to go back!’ And all of the sudden I heard Linda’s voice calling me, saying, ‘M.L., I love you, and I need you.’ ‘Please don’t do this to me,’ I pleaded. ‘Let me go.’ Then there was another voice, coming from beyond the fence saying, ‘No son, it’s time for you to go back.’ And Linda’s daddy said the same thing, ‘Not yet. Linda still needs you.’ I started moving back in the tunnel. It was so black!” (M.L. Gordon)

“Two elderly women came. I recognized them as both my grandmothers. They had died some five or six years previously. My father’s mother looked quiet and solemn. My mother’s mother was pleased to see me but, at the gate-keeper’s bidding, was quite firm in her tone. I had to promise solemnly not to try to return. I agreed. ‘Once more, I stood in front of the great dark disk again. As the stars and shapes slowly revolved, a deep voice said slowly, ‘Your time has not yet come.’ Then, once again I was in the long tunnel, feeling the wind against my cheek as I looked away and saw the long wall rushing past me. I awoke prostrate on the floor … I got up and walked thoughtfully across to my bed and sat quietly on it for the remainder of that evening, quietly reflecting on the experience. Echoing in my mind were the faces and voices of the disappointed young people, the revolving disc and the Voice, ‘Your time has not yet come.’ Twelve years later, my young son and daughter were playing one evening and it was time for me to put them to bed. My son turned and looked at me, smiling; my daughter sighed. In the golden twilight I recognized his look and her sigh immediately. They were two of the young people I had seen in my near-death experience.” (Robert Coleman)

“I heard a voice say, ‘Be not afraid child. It is not your time. You are not through on Earth. Everything has a purpose and you will have to complete yours before you return. Mankind is doing things the wrong way. Go back and teach humankind that LOVE is what is important. Love one another justly. Help those who cannot help themselves. Teach one another compassion, undying love and respect. My creatures on Earth, large and small, are here for a purpose. They know everything here on Earth. They know everything from the beginning of time till the end of time. They have no fear of death. Mankind needs to learn from my creatures. They are here to teach us what is important in life. If you have no love and respect for my creatures whom you have seen. How can you respect me and love me whom you have not seen? Go back and tell the four corners of the Earth what is truly important, not which religion. You are but the pure in heart. There will be many wars, poverty, storms upon storms to rage the Earth, but will man ever listen? My child go back and tell.’ I awoke gasping for air – screaming for someone to come to me. My daughter said to mom, ‘The air is on 70 degrees. It is cold in here.’ She sped up the ceiling fan a notch.” (Beth Hammond)

“Then I saw my Grandmother who had died 15 years earlier of a long and cruel illness and that I had loved very much. She had gangrene in one leg and had to have it amputated. At the time of her death, her illness had really taken a toll on her appearance. But when I saw her she looked radiant. She looked about 35 years old, healthy and had both of her legs! I was SO happy to see her and I wanted to stay with her. I asked her if she was OK and she told me she was fine and then told me I had to go back. She told me, ‘It is not your time. You have many things to do.’ And with that I was slammed back into my body – back was the pain and I felt sad.” (Karen Floyd)

“Life here pales in comparison to what awaits us. But I was told, ‘It is not your time!’ … and like a rebellious child I rebuked this and wanted to remain in this realm of ‘completeness’ but found that it was an effort in vain … and I can recall returning to my body like a hand in a glove and bouncing on the floor beneath my hospital bed and up back into my body.” (William Harris)

“I could hear the doctors working on me, saying that they had lost my vital signs. I was on the “All That Jazz” escalator with a long tunnel and a lot of white light. Then I specifically remember a dominant male voice saying, ‘It’s not your time. Get off the escalator. You’ve got shit to do.’ I came to, and got sewed up.” (William Petersen)

“And I said to him, ‘You must wonder what I’ve been doing, or you must sometimes feel angry with me.’ And he said, ‘No. Here, what goes on in the world has no meaning.’ He said, ‘We’re here to care for you, we’re here to take you on.’ And then there was a sense of drawing back, and I panicked and said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to go!’ He said, ‘You have to go, it’s not your time yet, you must go back. You’re going to have a son, and you’ll have to bring this boy up, bring him up yourself.’ Then Dad told me my marriage was going to break up. (We’d only been married just a year!) And I remember saying, ‘Dad, I don’t want that to happen. I always thought that when I got married, it wouldn’t happen.’ It was a very intense feeling. I said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to go – I want to stay with you. Let me stay with you.’ I was most distressed, I didn’t want to go back. He sent me back.” (Grace)

Immediately, she [Vicki Umipeg] recognizes this Being to be Jesus. He greets her tenderly, while she conveys her excitement to him about her newfound omniscience and her joy at being there with him. Telepathically, he communicates to her, ‘Isn’t it wonderful? Everything is beautiful here, and it fits together. And you’ll find that. But you can’t stay here now. It’s not your time to be here yet and you have to go back.’ Vicki reacts, understandably enough, with extreme disappointment and protests vehemently. ‘No, I want to stay with you.’ But the Being reassures her that she will come back, but for now, she ‘has to go back and learn and teach more about loving and forgiving.’ Still resistant, however, Vicki then learns she also needs to go back to have her children. With that, Vicki, who was then childless but who ‘desperately wanted’ to have children (and who has since given birth to three) becomes almost eager to return and finally consents. However, before Vicki can leave, the Being says to her, in these exact words, ‘But first, watch this.’ And what Vicki then sees is ‘everything from my birth’ in a complete panoramic review of her life, and as she watches, the being gently comments to help her understand the significance of her actions and their repercussions. The last thing Vicki remembers, once the life review has been completed, are the words, ‘You have to leave now.'” (Vicki Umipeg)

“And the light communicated with words. He said, ‘You’ll now believe in me.’ He also said, ‘I made you a woman, I created you. I know everything about you and I’m now going to send you back, because it’s not your time to come over. You still have your life’s work to do.’ I felt very humble, very much in awe of such love. I could hardly believe that someone could love me so much. At that time I remember asking what my life’s work was, and I was told, ‘You’ll not know at this time but you will be shown.’ And I think I was still asking questions like, ‘When? (laughing) I was always saying, ‘When?’ I was also told to come back and tell my husband and children what had happened. I was to share it with them. I think it was about then that I regained consciousness. I don’t recall coming back. Strangely enough, I only recall waking up a day and a half later, and by that time I was back in the ward.” (Janet)

“I saw an angel pass me. I was ready go to the light. Suddenly, the voices said, ‘It is not your time. Go back. I’ve got work for you to do.’ I went back. (Patty)

“I looked forward and saw a lighted tunnel and at the entrance were many people. They saw me coming and alerted the person in charge. This person came floating up to me. He reached me in an instant. I immediately knew him as ‘Uncle.’ I remember thinking, ‘I don’t have an uncle who looks like him.’ He was dressed in khaki pants, a white shirt and a tan sweater vest. He carried a clipboard. I thought, ‘How odd.’ He had floated just a bit in front of my path blocking me from going further. Then he telepathically said, ‘It is not your time.’ In the same manner I told him, ‘I am going home!’ (It was sort of like saying, ‘What are you talking about?’) Seeing how I willed to go forward, he talked to ‘others’ who were somewhere else. They told him to show me something. Then he came up beside me and we both looked down onto the Earth. All over the U.S. and some other countries, there were groups of people, some three, some one person, some many people, etc, at work doing what looked like triage work of mending hearts by putting their hands over the hearts of others. It seemed at times they would roll them into what looked like caves. Once they were healed, they would be wheeled out again and set on their way. Most of the healings worked but some failed. They were working so fast to get as many healed as possible. They also wore white. I asked if they were nurses? ‘No,’ he said. I said almost in disbelief, ‘But there are only thousands of them!’ And then he said, ‘That is all we need.’ They would tip the balance. What they did was all that was necessary to do to accomplish what needed to be done. Then I saw this whole group of people become one consciousness because of something ‘they’ on the Other Side had activated within them. They became ONE. At that moment, ‘they’ were able to send a bolt of pure light into the world through their bodies. It entered through their backs, behind their hearts, and exited through their chest and out into the world and into every nook and cranny of the world. Then the fog of shadows and fear rolled back and a new age of Heaven on Earth came. It wasn’t going to last forever, but it would for many thousands of years. Everything would be different. I looked at him and he said, ‘We need you there.’ Then I remembered it was my ‘contract’ to be there and to do my part. It was my husband’s part to send me over to see this and experience what I was seeing. It was just a role for which he had no bad intentions. It was up to me to remember and not play a victim. With that, I found myself back in my body but there still were no sounds.” (Anne Horne)

“I didn’t feel like I knew anything; yet, there was a place in me that knew everything. I asked Wills if I could stay. He said, ‘It’s not your time yet. There’s been a mistake. You have to go back.'” (Laurelynn Martin)

“The Hindu near-death experiences profiled here are typical of the cases studied in India by researchers Satwant Pasricha and Ian Stevenson. The subject does not view his or her physical body, as do many subjects of western near-death experience cases. Instead the subject is taken in hand by ‘messengers’ and brought before a man or woman who is often described as having a book or papers that he or she consults. A mistake is discovered. The wrong person has been ‘sent for,’ and this person is then brought back by the messengers to his or her terrestrial life; or the subject is ‘pushed down’ and revives. The error supposedly made is often a slight one, as a person of the same given name but a different caste, or someone living in a different but nearby village, should have died and been brought instead of the subject of the near-death experience. In six of their cases, the informants said that another ‘correct’ person (corresponding to the subject’s information from the ‘next world’) did, in fact, die at about the time the subject revived; but the researchers did not verify those deaths. In contrast, subjects of western near-death experiences usually give no reason (in psychological terms) for their recovery; if they do give one they may say that they revived because they decided to return of their own accord, often because of love for living members of their family. Sometimes they are ‘sent back’ by deceased persons who tell them ‘their time has not yet come.’ Indian subjects sometimes report meeting relatives and friends in the ‘other realm’ in which they find themselves, but these persons have nothing to do or say about the prematurity of the subject’s death and a need for him or her to continue living. The idea of prematurity of death, or ‘your time has not yet come,’ occurs in the cases of both cultures; but the persons involved in sending the NDEr ‘back to life’ differ.” (Satwant Pasricha’s NDE research in India)

2. Being Told “You’re Not Ready To Die”

Randy Gehlng ran to his grandfather and felt his strong arms close around him. Grandpa Hansen had been a farmer all of his life in Minnesota. He had died, still a powerful man, when Randy was six. Randy asked his beloved grandfather if he would now be living with him in heaven. “One day,” Grandpa Hansen told him. “But not just yet.” When Randy questioned his grandfather, he told him that he still had things to learn on Earth. “You nearly bought the farm this time, Randy-boy,” Grandpa Hansen said with a chuckle. “But you aren’t ready to cash in your chips yet.” Aero seemed puzzled. “But it seemed to me that I was doing the right thing. The word that I received indicated that now was Randy’s time to return home.” Grandpa Hansen shrugged. “I was told to meet you at the bridge and tell you to take him back home. He’s got some lessons that he hasn’t learned yet – and lots of work that he hasn’t even started to fulfill.” (Randy Gehling)

A diabetic Mexican woman who speaks no English (Steve is fluent in Spanish) and who, Steve ascertained, was completely unfamiliar with NDEs before her own experience. Here is her story: :Prior to her experience, she had lost the ability to see. Diabetes had taken away her retina, and her heart wasn’t supplying enough circulation to her brain to allow her to speak. She was in very poor shape. They prepared her for surgery. Open-heart surgery on a diabetic woman of sixty-seven is full of risk. The doctors went outside to discuss their strategy. While they were conferring, she saw the wall open up and a brilliant light pour out. A bearded man in white stepped up beside her. He was made of white light. ‘You’re not ready to follow me yet … you’re not prepared. I’m going to give you back your eyesight. You’ll need it to finish your life. And I’m going to heal the heart valve, so you can speak again. You still have a few more things to do. Your grandchildren need you to teach them.’ According to the woman’s account, he placed his hand on her chest, and her eyesight returned. [Later] she sat in a wheel chair, serene, full of confidence, and smiling. Her legs were gone, but her eyes were clear, and she was happy in a calm way. Her cardiologist later told her, ‘Something has happened to change you body. We don’t have an explanation for it. I personally ascribe it to be the will of God. You can go home now. We did nothing.'” (Dr. Kenneth Ring’s NDE research)

“He led me up through what seemed like a tunnel. I seemed to be walking, but my feet didn’t touch a floor. Suddenly I heard what sounded like a city-sized playground full of kids, laughing and playing. Hearing them calmed me. Another man came to meet us. I didn’t see him either. He asked the one leading me who I was, then he went away. When he returned he told the man with me that I had to go back, that they weren’t ready for me yet.” (Clara)

“At first, when the light came, I wasn’t sure what was happening, but then, it asked, it kind of asked me if I was ready to die. It was like talking to a person, but a person wasn’t there. The light’s what was talking to me, but in a voice. Now, I think that the voice that was talking to me actually realized that I wasn’t ready to die. You know, it was just kind of testing me more than anything else. Yet, from the moment the light spoke to me, I felt really good – secure and loved. The love which came from it is just unimaginable, indescribable. It was a fun person to be with! And it had a sense of humor, too – definitely!” (Dr. Raymond Moody’s NDE research)

3. Insights On Being Ready To Die

“There is such tremendous LOVE, PEACE and JOY there that you can think of no other place you would rather be. There is no way to really describe the high Heavens. It has to be experienced by the individual. And all individuals will have this experience when they are ready and it is time for them … Contrary to what many of us were taught in our various religions, ‘Heaven’ is not a reward for good behavior, it is a ‘higher plane of existence’ that awaits those who ready themselves to enter. The only way to enter through the door … is to hold the key of Love.” (Christian Andreason)

“The first city was like first grade. People stayed there until they were ready to go to the next city – your eternal progression, from city to city.” (Cecil)

“Since your arrival here, you have been escorted through several different realms; there are many more, and nothing is restricted. Each person is free to experience fully, and the only governor is the state of the conscious mind. Deeply held beliefs are what come into visible expression here, just as they do on the dimension from which you have just come. Not everyone will have the same experience, for truly we create our own. However, subtle energies gently press on closed, restrictive minds, and like the rosebud’s petals, they slowly open and expand and are soon willing to accept greater understanding. Then they are ready to move from their limited concept of life to the eternal adventure, for there is ever more to know, to do, to be.” (Jan Price)

“We stay in heaven (and there are many divisions to this vibratory level) for however long best serves our development. There is a sense of benefit here, as if one has found one’s true home and all is well (what some people call ‘recess,’ or a time of rewards). In heaven, we have the opportunity to assess our progress as a soul, to evaluate pros and cons and outcomes, to remember all truths including that of our real identity. We experience the glory of love and the power of forgiveness. This is not an end point, but, rather, the realization of our purpose in creation’s story, how we fit, and what possibilities for future growth and learning exist. We do not leave until we are ready for our next advancement either in the world of form or beyond it.” (P.M.H. Atwater)

“I thanked this loving being for explaining and showing me what he did. He told me that there was more for him to show me if I was ready to experience it. I told him I was ready. I did not know why I was chosen but I was not about to question why. It just seemed small to me then.” (David Oakford)

“Some people may want to hang around their old surroundings on Earth rather than go on to discover for themselves the beauty and wisdom which is offered to them on the other side. This may take a long time, but they are coaxed along slowly. Nothing is forced on a soul, neither attitudes nor understandings. This is why we are always counseled here on Earth never to force our beliefs on another person until one is ready to hear them. The free choice of every individual should be acknowledged … On the other side you see things with a clearer, more objective nature, but you are not given total knowledge because you would not understand it or be ready to use it, any more than while you are here on Earth. We are given knowledge only as we are ready to receive it, whether we are in or out of the body … As you are ready, and as you choose, you will be shown your past lives. If you do not believe in reincarnation it may take a long time before you are able to deal with this. Eventually, you must learn to understand yourself in a continuity of growth over many lifetimes.” (Betty Bethards)

“When your time comes … and the Light, the tunnel, Christ or your departed Loved ones come for you to take you home … go with them and go to Heaven! That is where you really belong! Just know that when you Love God or Christ … you will just naturally sense of feel where you need to go in Heaven and arrive in that place automatically.” (Christian Andreason)

“There is much, much work for you. You have to go back and tell them. Life is a precious gift. Each moment is filled with great opportunities. Don’t waste your time on Earth. Spread love and understanding. We will always be with you guiding you, protecting you, awaiting the time when we will be reunited when your work on Earth is over.” (Josiane Antonette)

“The NDEr may then receive a telepathic message, ‘It is not yet your time’ or ‘Your mission is not completed’ or ‘You are not ready to die’ or some variant of this. The decision to return may be voluntary or involuntary. If voluntary, it is usually associated with unfinished responsibilities. (Kevin Williams)

“We progress at our own rate to reach the light. If you do things that take you away from the light, then you are perpetuating your time here.” (Dr. Kenneth Ring)

“Concerning the transcendent experience (i.e., expansive revelations, alternate realities): Exposure to otherworldly dimensions and scenes beyond the individual’s frame of reference; sometimes includes revelations of greater truths. Seldom personal in content. Usually experienced by those who are ready for a mind-stretching challenge and/or individuals who are more apt to utilize (to whatever degree) the truths that are revealed to them. Incident rate: 2% with child experiencers, 18% with adult experiencers.” (P.M.H. Atwater)

4. Being Told “Your Mission Is Not Fulfilled”

“During this NDE I was ‘told’ I had to come back (from there) because I had a mission.” (Darren Corlett)

“Now, within his words, I felt a mission, a purpose; I didn’t know what it was, but I knew that my life on Earth had not been meaningless. It was not yet my time. My time would come when my mission, my purpose, my meaning in this life was accomplished. I had a reason for existing on Earth. But even though I understood this, my spirit rebelled. Did this mean I would have to go back?” (Betty Eadie)

“‘It’s not just your children, RaNelle. You have things to do – things that aren’t finished yet.’ ‘No, I’m better off here. I don’t want to go through all that.’ I pointed to my body. ‘I refuse. I want to stay here.’ I sensed my grandmother’s awareness that time was growing short. ‘You must go,’ she said. ‘Your mission isn’t complete.’ (RaNelle Wallace)

5. Being Told “Your Life Is Not Complete”

Eventually realizing he was in heaven, Dovel, a child with no religious training, stood in the presence of Jesus and immediately understood that his work on Earth was not complete. (Matthew Dovel)

6. Being Told “Your Life Is Not Yet Finished”

“However, I did not want to come back but I was told that my life had not finished and that I must. I argued and lost. So I reluctantly came back and got into my body and woke up.” (Alise)

“In the inner world, Michael and I were walking hand in hand towards the Pearly Gates. It really was the Pearly Gates! I never knew the Pearly Gates actually existed, but they did – at least, in my experience. The wise guardian of the gate came. He welcomed us and addressed Paul (Mike had changed his name to Paul) in connection with joining the ‘Children of God.’ This wise being said some things to Paul such as, ‘Off you go. Go in through the gates.’ I was about to follow and he said, ‘Stop! You’re not finished yet.’ (Palden Jenkins)

“These Beings knew what I was thinking and I had to tell them I felt I could have done a better job on Gaia. I knew what I had come to Gaia to accomplish and was well on my way to doing that but I knew I was not finished yet. They agreed and told me that I still had many things to do and that I may want to go back and do them. I was told it was understood how difficult it would be for me but it was necessary for the universe for me to finish. They said it may be wise to go back and live my life how I had originally planned it. They said I had set lofty goals for my life on Gaia and the events in my life were achieving the goals I had set. They said I originally came to Gaia to learn and share with others using the gifts I have accumulated over several lifetimes. They said I am needed on Gaia to help souls bring themselves and Gaia back to harmony. They said I have great potential to affect other souls, to help them grow and Gaia is the best place to do that. I was told the events I had experienced thus far were preparing me to make a large contribution to the universe and my experiences were not to be considered personal attacks in any way. I did not want to accept it. I wanted to stay. I told them that. I told them I was tired and wanted to stay because life on Gaia is hard and unforgiving. I felt going back would be dangerous for the universe because I was not advanced enough in my spiritual evolution. They said that was precisely why it would be in my best interest to go back to Gaia. They said I was more advanced than I give myself credit for. They said it was possible for me to stay but I would need to finish my work on Gaia sooner or later. The type of work I was destined for can only be done on Gaia. I could stay if chose to but I would only be prolonging the completion of what I needed to do for this universe. They explained the fastest way to finish my work would be to go back to Gaia as soon as possible.” (David Oakford)

7. Being Told “It Is Not Your Time To Die”

“I didn’t feel like I knew anything; yet, there was a place in me that knew everything. I asked Wills if I could stay. He said, ‘It’s not your time yet. There’s been a mistake. You have to go back.'” (Laurelynn Martin)

“I heard a voice say, ‘Be not afraid child. It is not your time. You are not through on Earth. Everything has a purpose and you will have to complete yours before you return… My creatures on Earth, large and small, are here for a purpose.'” (Beth Hammond)

“Telepathically, he communicates to her. ‘Isn’t it wonderful? Everything is beautiful here, and it fits together. And you’ll find that. But you can’t stay here now. It’s not your time to be here yet and you have to go back.’ Vicki reacts, understandably enough, with extreme disappointment and protests vehemently. ‘No, I want to stay with you.’ But the being reassures her that she will come back, but for now, she ‘has to go back and learn and teach more about loving and forgiving.'” (Vicki Umipeg)

“‘I know everything about you and I’m now going to send you back, because it’s not your time to come over. You still have your life’s work to do.’ I felt very humble, very much in awe of such love. I could hardly believe that someone could love me so much. At that time I remember asking what my life’s work was, and I was told, ‘You’ll not know at this time but you will be shown.’ And I think I was still asking questions like, ‘When?’ (laughing) I was always saying, ‘When?’ I was also told to come back and tell my husband and children what had happened. I was to share it with them. I think it was about then that I regained consciousness.” (Janet)

“And then there was a sense of drawing back, and I panicked and said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to go!’ He said, ‘You have to go, it’s not your time yet, you must go back. You’re going to have a son, and you’ll have to bring this boy up, bring him up yourself.’ Then Dad told me my marriage was going to break up. (We’d only been married just a year!) And I remember saying, ‘Dad, I don’t want that to happen. I always thought that when I got married, it wouldn’t happen.’ It was a very intense feeling. I said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to go – I want to stay with you. Let me stay with you.’ I was most distressed, I didn’t want to go back. He sent me back. He told me that he would be there, he would be there again for me.” (Grace)

“Upon hearing this, I then believed that I had been carried to heaven or before the Almighty God. I was so filled with LOVE and JOY. I was content and NEVER wanted to go back to Earth, ever. But I again heard these words, ‘It is not your time for you have much fruits to bring to me.’ But I did not want to return back to this Earth. Suddenly I felt myself back on my bed and the cloud had left. (Victor Borras)

“I started to turn the lever to open the gate when I heard this voice saying, ‘M.L., go back. It’s not your time.’ I said, ‘But I don’t want to go back!’ And all of the sudden I heard Linda’s voice calling me, saying ‘M.L., I love you, and I need you.’ ‘Please don’t do this to me,’ I pleaded. ‘Let me go.’ Then there was another voice, coming from beyond the fence saying, ‘No son, it’s time for you to go back.’ And Linda’s daddy said the same thing, ‘Not yet. Linda still needs you.'” (M.L. Gordon)

“We spoke telepathically for hours which in real time must have been a very short time and when he rose from my bedside to go I came up out of my body to join him with peace and joy only to be told – No! ‘But I want to go with you, I want to go home!’ I cried. And again he said with such kindness – ‘No, Jesus sent me to tell you, now is not your time.’ When I mentally shrugged and gave up (who was I to deny Jesus) everything came back……the pain, the smells, the heat, the noise and I wept.” (Jean Harmon)

8. Being Told “There Has Been A Mistake”

“He kept saying, ‘All is known. You have simply forgotten.’ I didn’t feel like I knew anything; yet, there was a place in me that knew everything. I asked Wills if I could stay. He said, ‘It’s not your time yet. There’s been a mistake. You have to go back.'” (Laurelynn Martin)

“I was totally aware that God was there but I was also aware that it was a mistake I was there and He fixed it very quickly.” (Kathleen Young)

9. Being Told “You Must Go Back”

“At that moment I asked God, ‘What do you want me to do?’ And the answer that came to me was that I had to go back into my physical body in order to complete certain goals that had already been set into motion.” (Liz Dale’s NDE research)

“The light spoke and it said, ‘Lynn, it is not time for you yet. Go back, child.’ I put my hand up to touch the top of the light. I knew then that I had touched the face of God. I told God that I loved him, and I wanted to stay with him. Again the light said, ‘Lynn, go back. It is not time for you. You have work to do for me. Go back.'” (Lynn)

“I started to turn the lever to open the gate when I heard this voice saying, ‘M.L., go back. It’s not your time.’ I said, ‘But I don’t want to go back!’ And all of the sudden I heard Linda’s voice calling me, saying, ‘M.L., I love you, and I need you.'” (M.L. Gordon)

“I think of death as some delightful journey that I shall take when all my tasks are done.” – George Elliot